Without
by Death by Cherries
Summary: He ran, looking for a certain person, praying with all his that she was safe. Bloody corpses lay unmoving on the rocky terrain that surrounded him. Yet, as much as it pained him, he kept running to ensure himself that the heart of this one woman was still pounding. A quick one-shot, with Nalu, and some minor Jerza.


**I don't know how this fanfic happened. I was just getting ready for bed, and bam, the story came my head. I picked my phone up, typed, and thus, this story was born. Contains NaLu and Jerza. **

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He ran, looking for a certain person, praying with all his that she was safe. Bloody corpses lay unmoving on the rocky terrain that surrounded him. Yet, as much as it pained him, he kept running to ensure himself that the heart of this one woman was still pounding. He felt this sinking, inexplicable pain in his chest.

It wasn't just any woman, either. He had never told her how much she meant to him. Now, all this had happened. The whole time while he was fighting, he was thinking about the deep brown eyes, those gorgeous locks of golden-blond hair, that spirit-lifting voice, and that addicting smile that went well with his own. Her aura was warm, full of joy, and it brought comfort to him—no, everyone around her. He hungered for it.

Originally, he wasn't as worried, as she was strong as well. However, upon seeing the half-dead figure of a man with blue hair and a woman with scarlet, both known to be exceptionally powerful, he feared for the life of his loved one.

He had originally wanted to help the two Mages, but both asked him to leave them be so that they could accept their fate. Though he did not know why they would say such a thing, he understood as soon as the two locked pinkies and closed their eyes. Their breathing became harsher and continued to slowly, but steadily continue to deteriorate until it stopped completely. Shocked at what had occurred right in front of him, he looked at the two lovers for a while in respect and dashed off.

It was hard not to laugh at the irony. Everyone but him was dead or near death, and he could do nothing about any of it. Wasn't he supposed to be the protector? It was always his intention. But now, life was just rubbing the failure in his face. He had lost his blue-furred Exceed friend an hour ago to an explosion.

For the first time since meeting his loved one, clear, authentic tears leaked out of the man's eyes as he continued his desperate search.

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What he saw in front of him made him freeze on the spot. It was eating him on the inside, chomping away on whatever shred he had left. The bright, glittery pools of brown that once greeted him every time she glanced at him were dull, empty, and staring into nothing. Her silky, golden hair was soaked in her own blood, tinting it a sickly dark maroon color. The most unbearable aspect was that she no longer had the warmth and happiness her very being had practically radiated. And he did nothing but stare and mourn.

Stare and mourn at the lifeless and beaten body of Lucy Heartfilia.

Millions of questions charged into his head as the tears poured out and gently fell to the rocky ground. Why didn't you tell her? Why didn't you stick with her? Why didn't you protect her? Questions from his own heart were firing themselves into his brain at such a pace that he couldn't answer them all.

All those questions made sense. They where all regarding things that he should have done. It would have kept her alive. His princess would have still been alive if he had just done all those things. Instead, he sees her in the worst state imaginable. He didn't even give her a proper farewell, keep an eye one her, or say that he would come for her.

He didn't even get to tell her how much he loved her.

"No..."

He had never been very worried about war, sure that it wouldn't happen. Fiore was a neutral kingdom, after all. They had no prejudice and bad relations for any other countries in Earthland. But this was a different. It was an internal conflict, caused by the forces of darkness ever-going mission to cause chaos and abolishing all light.

After clashing with powerful dark guilds so many times, every came back out alive. Now, everyone was gone. He was so naïve. How could he not expect this? The answer was simple. He was always ignorant of what the true casualties of battle were. These things would always happen between human, no matter what type of person held power.

Spotting a key chain with ten elegantly carved gold keys and another several silver keys laying a meter or so away from the blond's body, he reached out to grab them. To his surprise, they all evaporated into thin air once he had grasp on them, leaving an empty circular metal key chain.

What was he to do now? Lucy was gone, his comrades were gone, his guild was gone, and here was no hope of getting them back. He is now all alone in the world, no longer able to hear the voice of all the ones he cares for, only able to mourn and grieve over all the deceased around him.

Wait. There was another way around this, and that was to join her and the rest. Looking at the key chain, he frantically unbent the tough metal and glared at the sharp end with all the resolve that had gathered in a matter of seconds. Taking all the strength he had left, he removed his treasured scarf and slashed the bare surface with all the potency he could muster. As his vision began to blur, he caught sight of a translucent figure identical to the one he loved sitting on Lucy's dead body.

"Are you sure about this, Natsu?" she spoke, with the soft voice he had learned to adore so much. She stretched out her hand, giving a small smile. Natsu weakly grasped her hand and gave her his signature grin. "I see. Everyone's waiting for us."

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_**Real loss only occurs when you lost something you love more important than yourself.**_

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**...And the fanfic ends. Don't get me wrong here, I love both these pairings.**

** Thanks for reading, it's really appreciated. PS, I'm planning a drabble series for Fairy Tail. Any suggestions?**


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